Pro baseball player Jeong Woo-young of the LG Twins made his appearance in the Futures League after 58 days.

On the 30th at Icheon LG Champions Park, Jeong Woo-young appeared as a relief pitcher in the 2025 Futures League game against the Doosan Bears, pitching 1 inning with 1 hit allowed and 1 walk, achieving no earned runs. His earned run average dropped from 10.80 to 6.75.

With a 4-2 lead, Jeong Woo-young took the mound in the 8th inning and faced the first batter Lee Seon-woo, throwing a sinker with speeds of 145 km, 145 km, and 145 km in succession. The third pitch was centered, allowing a grounder that resulted in a hit to the right side, which was a well-placed ball.

Against Yeon Dong-geon, he recorded an out with a left-field fly ball on a 147 km sinker in the first ball. The first pitch thrown to Shin Min-cheol hit the arm.

With one out and runners on first and second base, Jeong Woo-young threw a 145 km sinker on the first pitch, which was a solid hit that was caught straight to the shortstop, resulting in an out. The shortstop quickly threw to second base for a double play, ending the inning.

He threw a total of 7 pitches, all sinker fastballs. According to the LG organization, his maximum speed reached 147 km. In the KBO YouTube coverage, there were 1 pitch at 146 km, 1 at 144 km, and the rest all at 145 km.

Jeong Woo-young, who became the holds leader in 2022 with 35 holds, began to show weaknesses in his quick motion from 2023, leading opposing batters to start targeting his sinker-heavy pitching. He attempted to make changes by modifying his quick motion and adding variations, but the sharpness and control of his sinker disappeared. The velocity of his once-great sinker, which had reached a maximum of 157 km in 2022, continued to decline.

According to Statiz, Jeong Woo-young's average velocity for his sinker in 2022 was 151.4 km. However, the average velocity for 2023 dropped to 148.8 km, and by 2024 it decreased to 145.2 km.

His performance also showed a downward trend. In 2023, he recorded 5 wins, 5 losses, and 11 holds over 60 games with an earned run average of 4.70, a notable rise from the 2.64 average in 2022. After winning the Korean Series in 2023, he underwent surgery to remove bone fragments from his elbow, and last year he posted a record of 2 wins, 1 loss, and 3 holds over 27 games, failing to rebound.

Before this season, he trained in personal training at Tred Athletic in the U.S. before spring camp. His sinker velocity improved, and he began to regain the pitching form he had when he was performing well. However, in the exhibition games, he appeared in 2 matches, facing 5 batters with 3 walks and 2 wild pitches recorded over ⅔ of an inning. The control problems that had persisted since last year recurred.

Manager Youm Kyoung-youb sent Jeong Woo-young to the second team to participate in a basic training program aimed at improving his pitching balance. The early season performance in the Futures League was disappointing. On March 30 against Hanwha, he pitched 1 inning allowing 3 hits, recording 1 strikeout and giving up 2 runs. On April 2 against Doosan, he pitched ⅔ inning with 3 walks and 1 strikeout, yielding 4 runs (unearned). His maximum sinker speed was also only 144 km and 145 km. He did not pitch in any real games for a while after that and only practiced. On that day, he made his appearance after 58 days. Although his sinker speed increased slightly, it seems he will need more time to regain his previous good pitching.

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